


Kinugoshi

by whatthefoucault



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Chess, Feelings, Food, Frostmaster Week 2018, Japan, Kyoto, M/M, Ramen, tofu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:51:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthefoucault/pseuds/whatthefoucault
Summary: When the Grandmaster had suggested somewhere special for lunch, Loki was not expecting a small, four-table restaurant in an unremarkable suburb of Kyoto, but there they were.





	Kinugoshi

**Author's Note:**

> Frostmaster Week 2018, Day Seven: Food and Drink
> 
> [Illustrated on tumblr here](http://whatthefoucault.tumblr.com/post/175792078021/frostmaster-week-2018-day-seven-food-and-drink).

"Uhh, you've been stirring the same cup of coffee for five minutes."

Loki blinked himself out of his ruminations.

"Sorry, sunshine," he said, affecting the best smile he could. "I remembered that there was this tree, in the courtyard of the palace where I grew up. It flowered in in summer, and my mother would dry the petals to make tea."

"I guess Wakandan blend's not quite the same," replied the Grandmaster, clasping Loki's hands in his own.

"Sometimes I just remember that Asgard is gone," said Loki. This sharing of feelings and feeling safe to do so was still so new to him, strange, but strangely easy with the Grandmaster. "And I remember the times I felt so angry and lost and alone, and I could have longed to see the whole place burn to the ground. But I didn't really. It was my home, where I grew up, learned my trade, ruled from time to time... so for a moment, when I remember it's gone, I miss it very much."

"Oh, stardust, honey, I know," replied the Grandmaster. "Let me show you something."

The Grandmaster rummaged deep within his left pocket, producing an old wooden chess piece, its curves worn dark and shining and smooth, so small in the Grandmaster's elegant hands.

"It's... a pawn," observed Loki.

"This is a pawn from my, uhh, very first chess board," the Grandmaster told him. "It's all that's left of my home planet except, uhh, well, me."

"And you've kept it all this time," observed Loki.

"It's got a, a good texture," he replied, running his thumb over it in a slow circle. "Mmm, smoooooooooooth."

"Do you miss it?"

"Ah, it wasn't anything special," the Grandmaster shrugged, tucking the pawn back into his pocket. "Of course I miss it. Not always, but, uhh... every couple of centuries."

Loki leaned into the Grandmaster's side, winding his arms around him. "Thank you, for finding me, for staying."

"Hoo boy, you are, you are stuck with me, mister," the Grandmaster smiled against his lips. "Until, uhh, at least until the heat death of the universe."

"Good," said Loki.

"Tell you what," suggested the Grandmaster, "why don't we go somewhere special for lunch?"

\---

When the Grandmaster had suggested somewhere special for lunch, Loki was not expecting a small, four-table restaurant in an unremarkable suburb of Kyoto, but there they were.

"I'll, uhh, I'll just have the tofu," the Grandmaster told their server, while Loki ordered a rich noodle soup.

"Are you... just having tofu?" Loki asked him. "Are you sure that's wise? I know it _looks_ like cheese, but - "

"I don't know," enthused the Grandmaster. "I've never had it!"

"Okay," shrugged Loki.

The Grandmaster was presented with a small plate piled with perfectly cut cubes of soft tofu. It was the most beige food Loki had ever seen. Loki's bowl, by contrast, was piled with a generous tangle of golden noodles, meticulous slices of bright green spring onion, and a cloud of bonito flakes dancing and melting into the dark, aromatic broth.

"You know it's not too late to order a... garnish, or something," suggested Loki, but the Grandmaster continued undeterred.

The Grandmaster held a piece delicately between his chopsticks, regarding it carefully, studying its angles and surface, before he popped it into his mouth. He moaned almost obscenely, eyes fluttering shut, arms falling limp to the table with pleasure.

"This," he said, pointing forcefully at his plate of tofu, "this is the real thing, right here. Stardust, you, you gotta try this."

"I'll take your word for it," Loki smiled, slurping another chopsticks' worth of slippery, chewy noodles, coated in light, gingery broth.

"I'm serious," he insisted, holding out a pale, wobbly square for Loki to try.

Loki was sceptical, but allowed the Grandmaster to bring the little cube to his lips: it was solid, but yielded under the most infinitesimally light pressure, silken and smooth. It tasted clean, of fresh water; slightly mineral, like cool clay earth washed by a mountain stream. It was the taste of a cleansing summer rain, breaking a long heatwave. It was restorative, comforting, exquisite. Despite himself, he whimpered.

"See?" the Grandmaster grinned.

"Good texture," Loki managed to say in reply. "Not bad."

"Midgard's okay," concluded the Grandmaster. "Don't you, uhh, dontcha think?"

"Yeah," Loki agreed, smiling softly. "Midgard's okay."

The Grandmaster beamed. "Say, uhh, how much of this stuff do you think we can fit in our suitcases?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment below (what's your favourite way to eat tofu?) and like and subscribe and [come say hi on tumblr](http://whatthefoucault.tumblr.com). Let's shout about Loki and Jeff at each other!


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